The announcement by President Akufo-Addo to the effect that his administration is absorbing electricity tariffs in part and in whole depending on one's consumption pattern throws a ghastly image on the shrivelled faces and warped minds of our NDC friends.
These perpetual whiners, as I have said on several occasions, are in a bloody battle against common sense and it would appear that common sense is beating them to pulp.
Coronavirus brings along troubled clouds hanging around the necks of humanity. Economies have taken a nosedive as a result of this COVID-19 pandemic.
Lenitive measures have, therefore, been introduced by President Akufo-Addo to soften the expected pains associated from the virus. Water tariffs have been absorbed and those of electricity have also been taken up by the state.
Our NDC friends make a certain case to the point that with people staying home within the stipulated three months frame, consumption would go up, therefore, defeating the 50 kilowatts of power consumption brackets not paying anything.
They say, for instance, if someone pays GHC20 for consuming 50 kw of power, now that they would be home, it would rise to GHC40, that is, 100 kw of electricity. Under such a scenario, the consumer does not benefit from the 100% absorption since he or she would still pay half of it, that is GHC20.
They, therefore, conclude that, in actual fact, no Ghanaian benefits from that tariff absorption as announced by the President. Let me school them on their illogical assumptions.
Not every Ghanaian lives in Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi where the lockdown would make majority of the people remain indoors and use more power. Those who are not in these cities were not affected by the lockdown and have, therefore, been consuming the same power all this while. Nothing changes in terms of their consumption pattern. These people, most of them, if not all of them, use less power than the Accra and Kumasi dwellers. These people will not pay electricity bills for the next three months because most of them fall under the 50 kilowatts of power consumption.
Moreover, assuming one buys GHC500 of power before the lockdown and the lockdown would, say, double it, the person would likely pay the same GHC500, but that does not mean he will not be affected by the 50% rebate.
People do not use power for nothing. Whatever power you use is to achieve something. The cool breeze you enjoy by switching on the air-condition, the gadgets you switch on to watch your Netflix, PrimeVideo, YouTube and Apple TV should also be part of the computations. You simply derive entertainment and enjoyment from using more power. You would pay GHC250 if you skip these enjoyments.
Our NDC friends should know that they cannot up their enjoyment levels with power and expect to pay less than they pay currently. If they want to pay less, they should stick to the consumption bracket they have been in hitherto.
Your consumption pattern doesn't change automatically. You cause it to change. If you don't change it, you will pay 50% of how much you have been using. If you want to live like an Arabian King, prepare to pay the same amounts you have been paying, and that does not mean that you have not benefited from the President's magnanimous gesture to the masses.
We should not lose sight of the fact that even when John Mahama's dumsor tormented us, we survived it. We slept in darkness, heat became our bosom friend, air-conditions in our homes became useless, our fans gathered dusts in corners of our rooms, death did not visit us. Sticking to your consumption pattern would not kill you.
Source: P.K. Sarpong
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